Encryption row spotlights fears on security, privacy

WASHINGTON: Has encryption technology given the bad guys a way to operate in the dark? Or has the new tech age gifted law enforcement with unprecedented surveillance powers?

A weeks-long showdown between the FBI and Apple ended last month without a clear winner, but the debate rages on over government access to encrypted data in an era of evolving mobile technology.

Some worry new forms of encryption are creating dark corners for criminals and terrorists to conspire in secret, while others contend just the opposite -- that it has led to a golden age for snooping on citizens.

On both sides, the passions run deep.

The US government dropped its legal battle to compel Apple to help unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in the December killing rampage in San Bernardino, California, after saying it had found a means to do so without Apple's help.

But those involved say it's only a matter of time before a new case emerges which tests the boundaries of law enforcement and data protection.

"This has created one of the most difficult policy dilemmas of the digital age, as encryption both improves security for consumers and businesses and makes it harder for governments to protect them from other threats," said a policy paper from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank.

"There is no way to square this circle, so any choice will come with tradeoffs."

For years the debate on encryption, privacy and security had been simmering, amid warnings from the FBI and others that law enforcement was "going dark" in an age of new mobile technology, where traditional tools like wiretaps don't always work and wrongdoers can increasingly operate unseen.

But revelations from former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden stoked fears that electronic surveillance has on the contrary become pervasive and in some cases spun out of control.

Several people ET spoke with about Ericsson’s India operations, including its current and former employees, said the Stockholm-based firm has reduced headcount in the last one year or so across functions, in line with its global restructuring.